Just You and I
by catatonicstarlight
Summary: [Based on the 30 Day OTP Challenge.] Stefan and Julia have known each other for years - centuries, even. They aren't new to this whole relationship idea, but they are new to the affectionate side of one another. [Den/Fem!Nor]
1. Chapter 1

**Day #1: Holding Hands**

Stefan knew Julia was in no way physically romantic. Any hugs given caused her to go stiff, any gentle caresses were unsuspecting and made her uncomfortable. Hell, even playing with her hair was out of the question, but it was nothing the Dane didn't mind. He simply enjoyed being around her. That's all that mattered, right?

Scanning the different small stores of the shopping mall, Stefan could see the flood of people wandering around. Children being guided by their parents, women and men holding each other's hands as they gazed at the merchandise past the windows of the stores. Without even thinking, Stefan's larger hand quickly went to grasp onto Julia's, keeping her close by his side as the crowds continued to grow larger and larger around them.

Feeling the sudden warmth that engulfed her tiny hand, Julia's sapphires quickly glanced down at their hands. Neither stopping her movement through the crowds or putting up the attempt of pulling it away. " _Why the sudden interest in holding my hand..?"_ She asked, her accent thick on her tongue as she spoke. Quiet, but just loud enough for only Stefan's ears.

The blonde followed in silence for just a few seconds. Unsure of what to say, but squeezed her hand as their fingers interlocked. " _..I didn't want to lose you, that's all. Besides, I love how small your hand is in mine. Especially with your wedding ring.."_

Now that he said it, Julia took one more glance towards their finger locked hands. Her wedding band, while almost faded but held the shimmer of gold in between his large fingers. A curt smile managed to twitch at the corner of her lips at the sight. " _..You're such an idiot."_

Smiling, the Dane unlocked their hands and brought her left hand to his lips. His soft lips lingering around the band, whispering into it delicately as if his breath would make it crumble. " _Ja, but I'm_ _ **your**_ _idiot."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Day #2: Cuddling Somewhere**

" _Stefan?"_ Julia called out, holding the basket filled nearly over with dirty laundry. It was his turn to do the laundry, but the Norwegian couldn't find him anywhere. After turning her house upside down in an attempt to look for the other blond, she finally managed to find him. Asleep on the couch, the TV on, spewing out the news.

Seeing the bottle of Carlsberg in his hand, half finished, Julia sighed. Figures. Setting the basket of clothes onto the floor quietly, the blonde wandered over to where he slept and took the beer bottle away. Placing it on the coffee table and unfolding one of the blankets folded on the back of the couch and tossed it over his huge frame. Just as she was about to go back to the basket, Julia felt a strong but loose grip at her small wrist. Looking back, at the supposedly sleeping Dane, still keeping his hold on her wrist but not with enough force to break it.

Taking this as a sign by him to stay, Julia looked at the basket and back to the boy. Well, it wouldn't hurt to relax for a little bit, right? Kicking off her sandals, she climbed underneath the blanket and besides him. His hand left her wrist and his arm went around her lithe form. Keeping her in place and close to him, his nose buried in the depths of her hair, breathing her in. The smell of cinnamon with the faint lingering scent of the ocean and vanilla filling his nose and bringing a faint smile to his lips.

Sure, he would most likely get a lecture when they woke up about how lazy he was. But for now, none of that seemed to really matter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Day #3: Watching a Movie**

It wasn't too common where either Stefan or Julia would actually get a break from their busy lives compiling of paper work, trips for meetings, meetings with your own boss and dealing with family. To be honest, the luxury of having quiet time and being curled up on the couch was hardly existent with the pair. Though, somehow today, they got lucky.

Browsing Netflix, Stefan rubbed Julia's back while she rested against his chest, listening to the beating sounds of his heart while nimble fingers toyed with the fabric of his shirt. Idly watching the selections showing up on the screen.

" _Any suggestions?"_ The Dane's voice was barely above a whisper, which was almost rare for him. After a few more seconds of the suggestions showing up on the screen before Julia's first finger pointed towards the screen.

 _Anastasia_. Without question, Stefan selected the movie, setting the remote on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around Julia's small frame, keeping her almost impossibly close.

Twirling strands of Julia's curled hair around his fingertips, watching the movie with mild interest as his other hand reached for his beer, but when he moved he noticed Julia didn't try to adjust herself to prevent herself from falling. Noticing this, Stefan halted, looking down at her face only to see that she had fallen asleep.

" _Jules?"_ The Dane called to her, gently wrapping his arm around her shoulder to keep her in place as he grabbed his beer. Smiling, he pressed a gentle kiss against the top of her head and returned to watching the movie.

Hearing the rather loud singing from the TV, Julia's eyes slowly opened. Groggy, she blinked the sleep out of them to notice the movie was still running. Sitting up just enough to rub at her eyes, releasing a small yawn. Feeling the sudden shift on his body, Stefan tore his attention away from the TV screen to glance at his sleepy lover.

Keeping his smile, he placed his beer on the floor in front of the couch. " _Did it wake you?"_ He questioned, his voice still soft as his thumb caressed her cheek.

Shaking her head, the female released another yawn as she readjusted herself on top of the Dane, grabbing one of the blankets from the end of the couch to cover themselves. " _Sorry that I fell asleep.."_

Shrugging his shoulders, his hand rubbed her back and entangled itself in her hair. " _If I knew movies put you to sleep, maybe we should do this more often.~"_ He teased, his other hand working on adjusting the blanket to properly cover them.

Rolling her eyes, Julia sighed in content as they finally settled down. " _I'd like that, but no more Disney musicals.."_

Stefan laughed, nodding his head. " _It was your idea, but deal."_


	4. Chapter 4

**Day #4: On a Date**

When it came to dating, Stefan could be known as a professional. Sure, Julia did her fair share of great date ideas, but she mostly left it up to the Dane only because she wasn't picky enough to argue the final decision. It was her turn to pick for date night and Stefan only knew she would want to stay in instead of going out. Yet, the date she decided on for the pair wasn't one he was expecting.

" _Let's go ice skating."_ Julia said, seemingly out of nowhere as she closed her book.

Well, that took him by surprise. Sure, he was good at deciding dates and where to go if it were up to him, but it was Julia. How could he say no? More or less, how could he tell her that he _couldn't_ ice skate to save his life? If it was what she wanted, then Stefan was just going to have to suck it up and do it for her. Despite his nervousness, he smiled his normal smile and nodded. " _Sounds like fun.."_

Leaning over to kiss his cheek, Julia got up from her place on the couch and turned the TV droning on in the background off. " _I'll get my skates."_ She said, walking out of the sitting room and up the stairs to their bedroom.

When Stefan was sure she was out of earshot, he quickly grabbed his phone and began to look up on how to ice skate and contemplating on whether or not this was actually a good idea. Seeing Julia in the doorway, Stefan quickly shot her a smile and put his phone away. Grabbing his coat as well as the house keys. " _Ready..?"_

She nodded, but blinked when she saw that Stefan didn't have his own skates. " _Where are yours?"_ She asked, blinking slowly.

At this point, Stefan grew nervous. Since he didn't know how to skate, it wouldn't make sense for him to own a pair. Of course Julia could tell that Stefan didn't have any of his own, but simply shrugged it off. She knew they allowed people to borrow some at the rink, so it wasn't that big of a crisis.

Walking out of their home and into the streets, they walked hand in hand downtown to where the ice skating rink was. Inside, there were little to no people there, and Stefan preferred it that way. Sucking in a breath, he hesitantly made his way to the man who allowed people to borrow skates. After paying him and telling his shoe size, he was given a pair of broken in, but decent skates. Gulping, he followed Julia to the entrance of the rink, shivering from the chill that ran up his spine.

" _It feels like forever since I've been on the ice.."_ She commented, taking off her boots only to replace them with the skates, lacing them up nice and tightly to prevent from slipping and hurting herself while on the ice. Tying up curled locks of sunshine, she looked towards Stefan who seemed to be taking his time. " _You okay..?"_

At first, Stefan didn't answer. Instead, he was more focused on trying to tie the damn skate onto his foot. Frowning, Julia got down and began to tie them for him. " _Jules, you don't need to do that.."_ He frowned, still embarrassed.

Shaking her head, Julia just continued to aid him. " _I know you don't know how to skate. You could have told me you wanted to do something else."_ She told him, tying the laces tight enough on his left foot before going to his right.

Feeling guilty, the blond male simply took his eyes away from her, a slight flush of red rising in his pale cheeks. " _I..didn't want you to think your idea for a date was stupid. I wanted you to have a chance to decide."_

Sighing, she stood back up once she had finished tying the skates. " _I can teach you, if you want."_ Julia offered, holding her hand out for him to take. Which he did, gratefully.

Carefully leading him towards the rink, some of the ice damaged from previous skaters, but that didn't stop Julia from gliding across. Already, she looked professional and it made Stefan nervous. Stepping onto the ice, his heart dropped as he already felt himself falling down, but Julia grabbed onto his hands, carefully guiding him along as she went backwards. " _C'mon, it's like roller skating."_ She tried to offer some help, but it didn't seem to stick well for him as he clung to Julia, holding onto her hand for dear life as they continued on.

As time went on, Stefan slowly, but surely got the hang of skating. Sometimes, he fell while trying to skate away from the sides of the rink and other times he managed to chase after the Norwegian before slipping. In all, he wasn't a professional, but he did show the effort. By the time they finished, Stefan was red and sweaty from his efforts as they undid their skates on the outside bench.

" _Not bad for your first time skating, huh?"_ Julia mocked, smiling faintly as she began to put on her boots.

" _Yeah, I guess. Though, next time you decide to go ice skating, don't drag me along."_ He complained playfully.

Julia simply rolled her eyes, tying her laces together and placed her skates over her shoulder. " _Yeah, yeah. Let's go get some hot chocolate, it's cold."_

The Dane simply nodded. While he didn't learn how to skate completely, it was certainly a date worth remembering.


End file.
